By IANS
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday urged that the current “dynamism” in agricultural growth, that averaged four percent in the last two years, must be maintained and methods must be worked out to ensure that this rate of growth is enhanced.
“Agriculture must be a central focus for the government given the importance of the rural population. Agricultural growth averaged four percent in the last two years and is likely to be four percent this year as well. We must ensure that this dynamism is maintained and indeed enhanced,” Singh said at the full Planning Commission meeting to approve the draft 11th Five Year Plan here.
He also referred to the government’s initiatives in enhancing the agriculture sector such as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and the Food Security Mission.
“By focusing on district level planning and emphasising flexibility and local relevance, we hope that we will be able to sustain the desired growth rate in agriculture and also ensure that it is regionally more balanced,” he added.
Highlighting that in the next 10 years the issue of food security would be crucial, Singh said: “Global trends in food production and prices and our own demand patterns of consumption are going to put increasing pressure on both the availability and prices of basic food stuffs.”
“If we have to manage these pressures, we need to ensure that the agriculture sector not only performs as per our expectations but also that our food planning adjusts to the emerging market realities,” he added.